Petermann Island is a small island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 just off the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....

 of Antarctica, located at 65°10′S 64°10′W, just a short distance south of Booth Island

Booth Island

Booth Island is a rugged, Y-shaped island, long and rising to west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica in the northeastern part of the Wilhelm Archipelago. Booth Island is located at...

 and the Lemaire Channel

Lemaire Channel

Lemaire Channel is a strait off Antarctica, located between Kiev Peninsula in the mainland's Graham Land and Booth Island. Nicknamed "Kodak Gap" by some, it is one of the top tourist destinations in Antarctica; steep cliffs hem in the iceberg-filled passage, which is 11 km long and just 1,600...

. Just 2 km (1.2 mi) long, the low rounded island is home to the world's southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo penguin

The Gentoo Penguin , Pygoscelis papua, is easily recognized by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and its bright orange-red bill. The gentoo penguin has pale whitish-pink webbed feet and a fairly long tail - the most prominent tail of all penguins. Chicks have...

s, and also hosts a number of Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin

The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel...

s.

The island was discovered by a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 expedition of 1873-74, who named it after geographer August Petermann. The French Antarctic Expedition

French Antarctic Expedition

French Antarctic Expedition refers to several French expeditions in Antarctica.-First expedition:Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec was a French explorer....

 of 1908-10 wintered over aboard ship in a cove on the southeast side of the island, named Port Circumcision

Port Circumcision

Port Circumcision is a cove indenting the southeast side of Petermann Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago. Discovered on January 1, 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Charcot, who named it for the holy day on which it was first sighted. The cove served as a base for the ship...

 because it was spotted 1 January 1909, the traditional day for the Feast of the Circumcision.

Huts built by the expedition are gone, although a cairn

Cairn

Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...

 remains, along with a refuge hut built by Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 in 1955, and a cross commemorating three members of the British Antarctic Survey

British Antarctic Survey

The British Antarctic Survey is the United Kingdom's national Antarctic operation and has an active role in Antarctic affairs. BAS is part of the Natural Environment Research Council and has over 400 staff. It operates five research stations, two ships and five aircraft in and around Antarctica....

 who died in a 1982 attempt to cross the sea ice

Sea ice

Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....

 from Faraday Station to Petermann.

See also

• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
• SCAR
  Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
  The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an interdisciplinary body of the International Council for Science . It was established in February 1958 to continue the international coordination of Antarctic scientific activities that had begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58...
  
  
• Territorial claims in Antarctica

External links

• Personal photographic account of the site in March 2007: bartosik.org